Anything
by Hannio
Summary: Now is not a good time for Raphael to go missing, not only do they have to find him and try and convince him to come back but now they've got a sewer full of Purple Dragons and The Foot to deal with as well! This clearly is not their day! Chapter 7 is up
1. Raphael

Anything

By

Hannio

Prologue

Raphael

**Disclaimer **

_None of the characters mentioned in the below work of fiction belong to me (though I really wished they did) they belong to the creators instead._

**Author Note **

_This takes me back a few years! This was originally a 100 word drabble that I wrote last night on my blackberry while I was lying in bed trying to sleep, however this certain Plot Bunny was more insistent then most and refused to leave me even after I had given in and written what turned out to be the prologue. Then on the train today on my way into work I was suddenly attacked by a plot line so my tiny drabble has sort of turned into a short 6 chapter story… yeah…One I actually have planned out on paper for once!_

_ Please go easy on me, I haven't actually written any fan fiction for a very long time, at least not fan fiction that was ever meant to be seen by anyone, normally I just use it for attempting to improve my writing style._

_ Anyway please enjoy it. This is a lot shorter then the other chapters will be because it's just a prologue the other chapters will be a lot longer… _

**Some things you do because you want to. Some things you do because of the needs of others in your family**

Sometimes he thought it would be better for everyone if he just vanished one day. Take all the pain he knew he caused his brothers and leave allowing them to be happy. They would grieve for a while but he knew they would soon settle into a routine and they would soon be happy again and he would simply be a vague memory that saddened them if they allowed themselves to think of him.

He had always known since he was younger that out of them all he was the least important, the one they could easily survive without if it ever came down to it. They couldn't survive without Leo; he was the eldest, and the leader the one they all ran to when they had nightmares or problems. He would sit there calmly, crossed legged and watch them as they spoke to him. Then he would proceed to comfort them in whatever way they needed. Donnie was important he kept everything running and kept them as physically well as was possible, without him everything would fall and collapse and then there was Mikey, Mikey was their sunshine in an otherwise dark place, who knows what they would become without him constantly lifting their spirits.

He on the other hand was none of these things. He could see the way they looked at him as if he was a time bomb waiting to go off. It made his nervous that look, made him defensive. He knew in his head that he could never hurt his brothers he would rather have cut off his own arms, sure they sparred but he always held back, not too much though because they needed to be strong and if a few bruises from him meant that they would survive then he was willing to be the one to put them there, though each mark made him flinch when he saw them.

They thought he was so angry with everything and everyone but he was just scared, scared of failing them, scared that they would realise he wasn't important and fear came out as anger and he would say things he didn't mean. It felt like someone else was saying the words and he was watching from afar. By the time it felt like he was back in his own body and realised what he had done, the words to heal them on his tongue they were gone. Shell turned to him as whoever it was that time walked away from him.

He felt that he saw more of his brothers' shells then he did their faces. Even when they looked at him it felt more like they were looking through him as if he was a ghost in the lair.

It hurt that after all these years none of them seemed to understand him nor seemed to care enough to attempt to. They should have known how little he trusted the words that other people said. Words could be faked, words would be forgotten eventually, words were just words but an action tended to stay with you. Years later when the words had gone you could still see what someone had done for you.

Had they honestly forgotten all the times he had protected them? The injuries he took in their place so they would be spared? The times he had sat late into the night holding them tightly while one of the others stitched them back together, the whole time blaming himself for not being quick enough.

He had the feeling they had.

Raphael would do anything for his brothers even if it meant leaving. He took a deep breath and glanced once more around the large, empty lair, silence ringing in his ears. Then with a nod he hoisted his bag further up his shoulder, turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him

There was nothing Raphael wouldn't do for them even if it meant destroying his heart to do it.

Author note – _Chapter 1 will be up pretty soon. I'm in the process of writing it… on the train it seems… and it's beginning to take shape. I'm hoping to have it up next week but I don't want to promise anything in case I can't._

_ Please review but no flames. Thank you for reading _


	2. Michelangelo

Anything

By

Hannio

Chapter One

Michelangelo

**Disclaimer – **_None of the characters mentioned in the below fiction belong to me in any shape or fashion. I'm just borrowing them for this story_

**Author Note – **_Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I did have it written but at the last minute I decided I was unhappy with it and rewrote it. As you can see we now switch to Michelangelo's perspective._

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed the prologue it means a lot to me _

_Enjoy!_

There was something wrong within the lair Michelangelo could tell from the moment he opened his eyes to stare up at his ceiling sleepily, his eyes focusing on the faded glow in the dark stars that his brother Donatello had stuck up there when Michelangelo had admitted he was scared of the dark.

His stomach was churning uncomfortably making him feel as if he was going to be sick with it though why he couldn't understand, he hadn't eaten anything the night before which would have accounted for the feeling, if anything the meal he had eaten last night was fairly tame as Leonardo, who had cooked yesterday, wasn't a great fan of spicy or experimental food preferring simple meals.

He glanced down the bed to see the familiar shape of his cat Klunk sleeping on his chest, a normal occurrence. The only explanation he could come up with was that he had experienced a nightmare which he couldn't remember.

Groaning out loud he turned his head on the pillow and squinted on the alarm clock he kept of a stack of comics by his bed. It was only 7.30 in the morning, he groaned again and lifted his arm resting his forearm across his eyes in an attempt to go back to sleep but within seconds he knew the gesture was useless and he was up for the day whether he wanted to be or not.

He yawned and dropped his arm back down to his side as he continued to lie in his bed, eyes focused back on the ceiling. Sunday was his day to cook for his family and he had seen when their friend April had popped round last night with some much needed food supplies for them that she had remembered to get the bacon that Michelangelo had specifically requested from her. In his mind nothing started a Sunday better then a bacon sandwich covered in tomato ketchup with the bacon crisped to perfection.

In fact when he thought about it in general nothing beat a Sunday full stop, it had to be his favourite day of the week by far. For a start it was the only day that they didn't start training at 6 in the morning and go on for a solid 4 hours straight with no break. Beginning training at 6 meant that Michelangelo and his 3 older brothers had to be up at 5 so they could eat and get ready for it.

Since Michelangelo rarely went to bed before 2 in the morning it meant that he often only slept for 3 hours often less. If there was one thing in the world that Michelangelo loved other then food, comics and his family it was his bed and more importantly being able to stay in bed for as long as he wanted without having to get up to do other things.

Sunday gave him this opportunity normally since Training started at 10 on the dot and only lasted 2 hours, it was agreed that if they had done the chores that Master Splinter had set them then they were allowed to do what they wanted for the rest of the day as long as it didn't place themselves or the family in any form of danger

Michelangelo now grinned to himself as he reached his hands up and lifted Klunk off of him, instead placing him to the side. He sat up in one fluid movement twisting his body round as he placed his feet on the floor shivering slightly in the cool air.

He had already decided the previous night that he would get his chores done first thing instead of leaving it to the last minute like he normally did. There was a monster movie marathon showing on the Horror movie channel at 7 that evening and he was determined that he was going to watch it from start to finish.

He had even gone as far as to approach both Leonardo and Donatello and beg use of the TV for the whole evening. They had eventually agreed to his request and even agreed to stay far away during it and not to try and start pointless conversation with him or around him which might distract his attention away from the screen. Sometimes it paid to be the youngest of the family as he often got his way and if badgering, pleading, begging and annoying his brothers didn't do the trick then whipping out the puppy dog blue eyes often did the trick.

He hadn't approached Raphael with a similar request because he was hoping he could use his badgering talents to make the other turtle agree to watch the marathon with him. He knew it was a long shot since Raphael was normally too restless to sit down in one place for very long but even if Michelangelo got him to watch just one movie with him it would be a victory.

He had noticed recently how withdrawn and distant Raphael had been with them all, he barely spoke a word anymore and he hadn't even been going up to the surface to meet with Casey and take out some Purple Dragon Scum like he would normally do about 4 times a week. He instead seemed to spend all his time in his room only coming out for training, meditation or to eat. If Michelangelo approached him in his room then he would tense up and watch him as if Michelangelo was somehow a threat to him.

That look hurt Michelangelo when he saw it, Raphael was his best friend and he thought that he was his as well but now he was beginning to wonder and worry. Raphael was a great many things in this world both good and bad but withdrawn and silent wasn't one of them. It just wasn't right.

Whatever was going on in Raphael's mind Michelangelo was determined to get to the bottom of it. He was going to bring the old Raphael back into the fold by whatever means necessary. He missed his brother, missed his loud laugh, his loud husky voice, his sarcastic one liners that never failed to make him grin when he heard them and more importantly he missed Raphael's passion for life, the same passion that always reflected in the amber eyes of his brother until recently. He was sure his other brothers had noticed as well, had seen the way they were attempting to cling to Raphael as well only to receive the same hunted look.

He couldn't understand what had happened to put that look on his face, out of all of them Raphael was the toughest and physically the strongest. He never gave up no matter what the situation was. Michelangelo always felt safe when Raphael was around even if they were both in the lair. He knew and had always known that his older brother would never let anything happen to a member of their family. That he would protect them with his life if need be. He had lost count of the number of time Raphael had received a hit for him, taking the injury instead and not even saying a word about it. He wished he was that brave.

Michelangelo frowned, he wasn't going to take no for an answer tonight. He was going to make popcorn the way they both like it, hot and covered in butter. He was going to order the meat feast pizza knowing it was Raphael's favourite and he was going to spend the afternoon in the kitchen melting the two types of chocolate April had brought him to make rice crispy cakes just for them since they were Raphael's favourite desert.

Shaking his head he forced himself to his feet and stretched, hearing his bones crunch into place with a satisfying crack. He rubbed the back of his shell for a moment yawning widely before grabbing his belt and wrapping it round his waist; he slipped his nunchucks into his belt and sat back down on the bed to pull of his elbow and knee pads. He was going to make sure that today was going to be one of the best days ever for Raphael just to show his appreciation for him.

Michelangelo left his room, tying his orange mask round his face before running lightly down the stairs to the ground level of their home, humming lightly to himself. He stopped as he was struck forcibly with the feeling that something was missing, something was teasing the back of his mind telling him he knew was it was but was remaining frustratingly out of reach in his mind. He had often had feelings like this in the past and had always been right. He couldn't explain the feeling even to himself only that their home somehow felt different then how it should be.

He shook his head and began walking across the living room space towards the kitchen, His stride slower then before, his eyes more watchful lingering on the corners of their home where the shadows were thickest in case something gave him the answer.

He glanced to the left of him and stopped reassured by the sight of Leonardo who had the same ability as Raphael, one look at either of them and you felt safe. Leonardo was sitting crossed legged on the floor near the pool; flickering candles circled him creating shadows on the surrounding wall. He had his eyes closed and wore a calm almost peaceful expression on his face. The sight of seeing Leonardo mediate in the morning was something Michelangelo was familiar with but the sight of normality didn't reassure him, if anything it made the feeling of unease intensify until Michelangelo placed a hand against his stomach.

He turned away from Leonardo after a moment's hesitation and continued to the kitchen passing Donatello's lab as he did. He could hear sounds of metal against metal which could only mean that Donatello was in the process of working on another of his numerous projects he had half completed in his lab. Michelangelo wondered whether Donatello had even been to sleep. It wouldn't be the first time their resident brainiac had pulled an all nighter, If never eating or sleeping proper was what it meant to be a genius then Michelangelo was glad that he wasn't one.

He came to a sudden stop, one foot inside the kitchen, one foot out and looked over his shoulder with a frown his eyes landing on the still silent punching bag that was hung near the entrance of their home. A glance round the lair revealed that he hadn't missed anyone in his journey from his room to here. He knew where Leonardo was, he knew where Donatello was but he had no idea where Raphael was.

It made no sense to Michelangelo, Raphael had a daily routine which he kept to like clockwork. Every Sunday he woke up at 6.30 regardless of the fact that he could have a sleep in if he wanted and would make his way to the punch bag which he had claimed as his own and work out, the sound of flesh hitting leather, of grunts which escaped from Raphael as he pushed himself, the sound of the music he would work out to echoing round their home. Michelangelo was so used to the sound that he found it almost reassuring. It was a sound which indicated that everything was ok in the Hamato household.

He turned his gaze from the punch back to the first floor, his eyes bypassing his own door to focus on Raphael's, an uneasy look on his face. There were two options for this situation either Raphael had for once slept through his alarm and was still fast asleep which Michelangelo immediately dismissed or the older turtle was ill.

He sucked in a sharp breath feeling as if someone had punched him hard in the gut. Out of the 4 of them Raphael was the one who was sick the least, seemingly having the strongest immune system out of them. It meant that when they were sick he was often the one to take care of the sick person as he was the one least likely to catch whatever it was. Michelangelo could remember the times when he had woken to find Raphael sitting by his bed, reading quietly, the sight reassuring.

On the rare occasion that Raphael was sick though it was always extremely bad. He never got simple illnesses they would always be complex. When Raphael became sick his brothers never left his side, Michelangelo would sleep on the floor by the bed waiting for his older brother to get better. He still remembered vividly 2 years ago when Raphael had been sick and their father had taken them aside and told them to prepare for the worst and that they must be ready to say goodbye to him. Raphael had pulled through but Michelangelo had never forgotten the feeling of pain and agony he had felt at the thought of losing his brother. He still had nightmares about it.

He turned away from the living room and entered the kitchen trying to ignore the panic he was feeling, the panic that was threatening to choke him. Everything in him was screaming at him to run to Raphael's room and check to see whether he was ok but he resisted the urge.

Raphael was strong and he would be fine, he had seemed fine yesterday though tired and preoccupied. If he been as tired as he had seemed then it could have been possible that he was taking advantage of a lie in for once.

Michelangelo would make his favourite food and Raphael would smell it and get up, swagger into the kitchen like he owned the place the same as he used to do, rubbing his eyes the way he did when he was tired before giving Michelangelo his increasingly rare smile. He would then demolish the food on the table, sharing a joke with Donatello and Leonardo when they came in and it would feel like they were a family again.

He began humming loudly to himself trying to ignore the lack of sound from the other room, normally by now he would have stuck his head out the door and yelled at Raphael to turn the music up, Raphael would have grumbled about annoying brothers but would have complied with Michelangelo's wish. Leonardo would glare at him and Michelangelo would grin back and disappear back into the kitchen.

He took the bacon and eggs out of the fridge and began preparing them for breakfast. He would make bacon and scrambled eggs for them all. He began cooking it but kept his eyes on the door at all time looking for a glance of his brother. Michelangelo normally loved cooking; using it as another outlet for his creative energy but today he couldn't focus on anything but the feeling of impending doom he was feeling.

He placed all the cooked food on two large plates and placed them in the middle of the table before walking to the door and calling out

"Guys its Brekkie time, come and get it while its hot and still there" he walked to the fridge and pulled out some apple and orange juice placing them on the table and took his seat just as Donatello walked in the door, wiping his hand on a cloth.

"Is that Bacon I can smell?" Donatello asked as he took his seat, he smiled as he saw the plate "Nice, I best get in here before Raph gets it all, I'm surprised he's not already in here hovering it up" he glanced around as if he expected Raphael to be hiding in a corner somewhere before he shrugged his smile gone and an uneasy look growing in his eyes as he filled his plate.

Michelangelo nodded a fixed smile on his face but remained silent. He made no move to fill his own plate up, instead crossing his arms across his chest and watching the door. All he needed was a glimpse of Raphael to make this feeling disperse.

The door was pushed open again and Leonardo walked in followed looking rested and relaxed as he took his seats.

"This smells great Mikey" Leonardo commented leaning over to help himself to some scrambled eggs "Thanks for making this" he turned and smiled at Michelangelo before glancing at Donatello "Morning Donnie, did you get any sleep last night" Donatello nodded but didn't reply as his mouth was full. Leonardo turned and stopped, his frame becoming still as he took in Raphael's empty seat he looked round the room just like Donatello had before speaking, an urgent tone to his voice "Has anyone seen Raph today?" he demanded.

Michelangelo came to his feet ignoring both his brothers. He was right and there was something wrong. Raphael would never be this late for breakfast not when punctuality had been drummed into them since they were toddlers by Master Splinter and especially not on a day when they were eating bacon.

"Mikey are you ok?" Donatello asked coming to his feet with a look of concern. He placed he hand on Michelangelo's arm but he shook it off as he brushed past Donatello on his way to the door.

"There's something not right here" he stated as he left the room aware of their worried gazes on him. His pace became faster and faster as he made his way across the living room until he was sprinting up the stairs, his only thought checking on Raphael.

He came to a stop outside the closed door and hesitated a moment, scared of what he would find within. He felt rather then saw his two other brothers join him outside the room.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open, entering the room which was completely dark. He reached his hand out and felt the wall groping it until he found the switch; he flipped it, flooding the room with light.

Two things struck him like a blow to the face, firstly that the room was too tidy; Raphael was fairly neat but had the habit of dropping things to the ground often leaving small piles of mess. This room looked like it wasn't being lived in. the second thing that struck him was the fact that Raphael's hammock, blankets and pillows were gone. A glance round the room revealed other items, items that Michelangelo knew Raphael would never remove; items his brothers had given him which meant the world to him were gone.

"No" he whispered, the knowledge of what had happened stark in his brain "No, No, No please No" he began chanted his voice becoming louder and rougher with each world as his eyes blurred. This couldn't be happening. He walked forward his gaze focused on a piece of paper on the ground where Raphael's hammock used to hang.

He bent and picked it up hearing the cry of denial from Donatello as he opened it. Never before had he hated his brother's elegant handwriting. He had always found it amusing that out of all of them it was the rough, tough ready to fight at a seconds notice brother who had the most beautiful handwriting out of them, a fact that Michelangelo relentlessly teased him about.

Swallowing deeply he blinked trying to clear his vision. When he has succeeded he read the short note.

_Guys,_

_I'm sorry but it's for the best. You're safe now_

_Raph_

Michelangelo crumpled the letter in his hand and stood there for a moment, his eyes wide and unseeing as the meaning of the note sank into his brain. He dropped the letter with a muffled howl.

Raphael was gone.

**Author Note – **_Poor Mikey, I just want to gather him up and give him a big squishy hug! Hope you enjoyed it so please review but don't flame. I'll try and get chapter 2 up but I still have to write it and since its December my days and evenings no longer are my own. I'll do my best!_


	3. Donatello

Anything

By

Hannio

Chapter Two

Donatello

**Disclaimer – **_None of the characters mentioned in the below work of Fiction belong to me in any shape or form instead they belong to the creators. I'm merely borrowing them for this story._

**Author Note – **_Oh my goodness this chapter has been difficult to write, I've been attempting to write it for the past month pretty much but it was being stubborn and refused to come out of the recess of my mind until now. Anyway it's pretty long and angsty so I hope you enjoy it. I always felt that Donatello would struggle with being separated with his brothers especially in this sort of fashion, anyway enough from me, read away _

Raphael was gone and he clearly wasn't planning on coming back otherwise he wouldn't have packed his belongings; he would have left them behind. The fact they were gone said everything to Donatello, more then any words on a piece of paper could do.

He stared blankly in front of him trying to take it all in, trying to ignore the empty feeling that had blossomed in his stomach at Michelangelo's cry. The same feeling that if he was being honest with himself had started to emerged from the moment he had woken up in the lab, when the stark knowledge that something had happened while he had been asleep had burrowed itself into his brain, refusing to be dispelled.

He swallowed loudly, the only sound in the otherwise silent room but which broke the spell which had held them all immobile. Donatello watched almost helplessly as Michelangelo turned to face them. His face which normally showed every emotion, which always had a ready smile on it regardless of the seriousness of the situation they were facing at the time, was blank of everything. His eyes were dark and turbulent as he walked out of Raphael's room without another word to them.

Donatello listened to his footsteps until they were gone before turning to Leonardo his eyes wide. Leonardo glanced at him once before dropping his eyes to the floor where they stayed moving rapidly as he clearly tried to take in the situation facing them. Donatello turned his head away and took a few steps forward, bending down and picking up the crumpled piece of paper which Michelangelo had discarded.

He opened it, smoothing the paper as he read the words himself, he glanced up for a moment before dropping them and re-reading the note hoping against hope that he was wrong and there was some other meaning to the note, some meaning that didn't mean that Raphael was gone.

"What does it say?" Leonardo asked him, his voice monotone and eerily calm considering the situation. Donatello glanced back over his shoulder and spoke

"That's he's gone" he replied, turning and holding the letter out to him "You can read it if you want" he offered, Leonardo took a step forward and took the note from Donatello and read it slowly, his mouth forming the words before he looked up and met Donatello's eyes, his own burning with an intensity which Donatello normally only saw before they were going into battle.

"We have to get him back" Leonardo said before turning and leaving Donatello alone in Raphael's room. Donatello let out a shaky breathe as he looked around trying to figure out exactly what Raphael had taken with him, something which might give them a clue to where he might have gone.

Shaking his head Donatello left the room closing the door gently behind him before glancing over the banister. He could see Leonardo and Michelangelo standing by the TV screens, Michelangelo with his arms crossed and face averted as Leonardo spoke to him, the words too low for Donatello to hear. No doubt Leonardo was trying to comfort the youngest.

Donatello hurried down the stairs coming to a stop behind them trying to ignore the questions which were floating round his head mocking him. Why would Raphael have gone? Why would he have felt that he had to leave them? What could have been so bad that he would feel that packing up his belongings and leaving without a word to them was the only option which was available to him?

Donatello reached up his hand and rested it against his eyes for a moment. He would never be able to find an answer to the questions, the only person who could provide him with them was gone, hidden from them.

He lowered his hand instead folding his arms across his chest, the empty feeling growing with each passing second that they remained inactive. He needed to find his little brother, he needed to make sure that he was ok and safe, nothing else mattered to him at that moment. Raphael could have been out there hurt and alone without anyone to help him. He could have fallen and be lying at the bottom of a tunnel somewhere, calling out for help, calling out for him, needing him but once again Donatello wasn't there to help him. He was frozen at home waiting for instructions.

He watched as Leonardo turned from Michelangelo instead choosing to pace the floor clearly trying to come up with the best way of searching for Raphael. It was clear that they would need to split up but there was only 3 of them and the sewers were a large sprawling area with so many hiding places and secret tunnels that they didn't know about, it could take months to find Raphael and that would be if they did. None of them knew their surrounding area like Raphael; if he wanted to disappear for good then he could easily achieve that goal.

"We need to tell Master Splinter about what has happened before we leave, we shouldn't linger any longer, merely gather some basic supplies and get out there. We need to find Raphie and bring him home, it's not safe to be alone out there, I mean he could…" Donatello's voice trailed off as he lowered his eyes from his brothers' gaze. He was unable to put his chaotic thoughts and fears into words. Somehow if he said them out loud then it would really mean that this was happening and Raphael, their protector, was missing.

"We'll find him" Leonardo said automatically, he shot them both a quick questioning glance as he spoke, an urgent note to his voice "Has Raph spoken to either of you recently, had he said that there was something troubling him? Has he mentioned any new place he might have found because he would probably be likely to head there and if we have an idea about what is wrong with him then we might be able to determine where he's gone as well." His voice sound calm and restrained the same as it always did but Donatello knew Leonardo extremely well and he could tell from the signs that the eldest was going out of his mind with worry.

"He's said nothing" Michelangelo remarked breaking the silence that descended after Leonardo's question, his voice sounded dead of emotions and so unlike him that Donatello took an automatic step towards him before forcing himself to stop. There was no comfort that he could offer the youngest at that moment. What Michelangelo needed was for Raphael to come home. For a moment Donatello felt a flash of anger towards Raphael before it was smothered by his fear. There would be time later for him to be angry at Raphael once he was home.

"No he hasn…" Donatello sentence trailed off mid word and he looked at them with wide eyes forcing him to breathe as a memory lodged itself in his brain forcing him to relive it. It had been from the previous week.

_ "Donny have you got a minute?" Donatello closed his eyes in annoyance as he turned towards the doorway to his lab to see Raphael leaning against it looking uncomfortable. He turned his attention back to the experiment he was currently working on; it had reached the critical stage and required all his attention to keep it stable._

_ "Not right now Raph" he called out, his voice sharper then he intended as he reached out and picked up one of the vials of liquids from his test tube rack holding it above the bubbling blue liquid over his Bunsen burner and allowing one drop to fall in before placing the vial back in the rack._

_ "Sure, maybe later?" Raphael said, an almost despairing tone to his voice, Donatello frowned slightly at the tone and went to answer when his experiment turned green causing him to curse out loud_

_ "I'll come and find you later Raph" he said, dismissing the younger turtle. He was aware that Raphael watched him for a moment but never looked up as he heard the sound of the door close leaving him alone again._

"Donnie did Raph tell you something?" Leonardo demanded loudly. Donatello blinked rapidly looking up as he came back in to the present. Donatello looked confused at Leonardo and Michelangelo both who was watching him, Leonardo looking eager, Michelangelo merely looking blankly at him. He took a deep breath and spoke quietly wrapping his arms round himself.

"I think he tried to but…" he stopped for a moment before continuing, his voice quieter, almost hushed "but I sent him away and told him I would come and find him later but I didn't, I forgot" he winced at the looks he received from both of his brothers but didn't make a comment about them. He deserved the looks, if he had just taken a moment to speak to Raphael, to hear him out then they might not have been in this situation full stop.

Donatello knew his brothers well, they lived in each others pockets, for years it had just been the 4 of them and their Master. They had learned to rely on each other, to learn each others weakness, strengths and general habits. Donatello knew that Raphael normally kept his feelings to himself, hiding every true emotion behind a wall of anger which kept most people from probing him too deeply.

He never went to anyone when he had a problem preferring to deal with it alone but when he occasionally did have to speak to someone he would go to Donatello. Donatello understood why that was. Michelangelo was his best friend but he was also his only younger brother and Raphael had gotten into the habit of protecting Michelangelo from everything, his own problems included. He could never confide in him and Leonardo was the eldest brother, the one who Raphael constantly fought with but whose opinion mattered the most to him. He would never admit to something which could have made him look weak in Leonardo's eyes. The only choice for him was Donatello.

"This isn't your fault Donnie" Leonardo said, the calm tone coming back to his voice "There's clearly been something going on for quite the while" Donatello nodded as his insides twisted with shame, regardless of what Leonardo said he knew this was partly his fault. The one time Raphael needed to talk to him, he brushed him away as if he was unimportant.

"My sons I am feeling much tension in our home, what is troubling you?" Donatello turned at the voice to see Master Splinter walk into the room from his meditation room, the sight reassuring Donatello the same way it always did. He glanced at Leonardo as the other turtle stepped forward coming to a stop just in front of their master.

"Raphael has gone Master Splinter" Donatello flinched at Leonardo's words before he could control it. Somehow hearing the words spoken out loud hurt more then anything else. How could Raphael be gone? How could their home already seem darker and emptier without him? He bit the inside of his lip hard, his eyes focusing on the still punching bag as Master Splinter spoke

"What do you mean Raphael has gone?" he asked, Leonardo looked to the side unable to meet Master Splinter's eyes, his hand curling into a fist as he clearly tried to keep hold of his usual unshakable control.

"He's gone and I don't think he plans to return" a silence fell after his words broken by a choked sound from the direction of Michelangelo who was still refusing to look at them.

"Gone" Master Splinter repeated, a frown coming to his face "What has led you to this conclusion? Your brother often leaves us to go to the surface to fight his demons" Leonardo took a step forward and handed over the letter he had been holding all this time, Donatello could tell that Leonardo was reluctant to hand it over. Master Splinter read the letter, remaining silent before he spoke.

"I fear this is my fault" he announced, Donatello blinked once and stared at his father in shock. Out of all the things he expected to come out of his father's mouth that was definitely not one of them. He saw Michelangelo turn and look at them with a strange expression on his face but before he could analysis it further Leonardo spoke attracting his attention.

"How is this your fault Master Splinter?" he asked taking a step back towards his two brothers as if to protect them from what was coming "How could Raph leaving be your fault?" he queried, Master Splinter sighed and rested both his hands on the top of his cane as he began speaking, his voice quiet in the room.

"Your brother came to see me last week in a troubled state. He was disturbed believing that he had somehow failed the 3 of you, that you viewed him as trouble and a monster. He seemed confused and not thinking straight. I attempted to comfort him and assured him that this was not the case and that if he waited he would find the answer he sought that would comfort him. I fear he took my advice to mean the first idea that came to him was the correct one and that was clearly that you 3 would be better off without him. He seemed to think you feared him." He shook his head, a sad expression on his face as he looked up and saw their shocked horrified expressions

"We must find Raphael immediately, I fear that with your brother's extensive knowledge of the surrounding tunnels and upper surface he will soon be gone for good"

"You think that Raph is still around this area?" Leonardo asked eagerly. Master Splinter nodded his head.

"Your brother is a born protector Leonardo and he views the 3 of you as his charges, he would not so easily leave you until he was sure that the 3 of you would remain safe without him, which means he will stay until he has seen that you have finally given up on him and then he will move on elsewhere." Donatello looked at them in shock, how Leonardo and Master Splinter could be discussing this so calmly was beyond him. He turned his attention to Michelangelo who was watching the floor his eyes wide.

"He thought he was a monster?" Donatello said cutting Master Splinter off mid sentence "How could he have ever thought that?" he demanded angrily "Where did he get such a stupid idea, he's Raphie you know?" Donatello didn't say anymore instead turning to look to the side of him. He had to remain in control and not let go like he really wanted to. How could he have been so blind to what was happening right underneath his nose? He had lived his brother for 16 years every day spending time with him and he didn't even see it.

"We don't have time for this Donnie" Leonardo said turning to look at him "We can deal with all of this later but we've got to get out there, every second we waste means Raphael is a step further away from us" Donatello swallowed meeting Leonardo's eyes as he nodded his head.

"I shall call Casey and April" Master Splinter said "They can begin to look on the surface and then I shall head to the South" Leonardo nodded his head

"I'll go to the North, Mikey head to the East and Donnie you take the West, make sure you have your Shell Cell on you so we can keep in contact" Donatello turned without another word and hurried to his lab grabbing his Bo and his charged Shell Cell slightly thanking himself for charging it the night before.

When he re-emerged he could see that both Leonardo and Michelangelo were gone, clearly both eager to begin the search. He glanced at Master Splinter who was speaking on the phone and left without another word.

He hurried through the cold sewer tunnels keeping his eyes peeled for anything that could indicate that his brother had come this way. He was unsure how much time had passed or how many tunnels he had explored. They hadn't actually discussed how long they would give it before they regrouped but he was sure that neither of his brothers had found anything either since his phone had remained silent.

He turned a corner and stopped, sinking into the shadows, he stared in front of him with a frown. There were members of the Purple Dragon in front of him staring up at the ceiling with bored expressions on their faces, clearly waiting for something. He knelt down slightly and began watching. He knew that he should get out of there but he also knew that Leonardo would pump him for information when he told him about this and he wanted to be able to give him something to work with.

"Well, well what do we have here?" Donatello swung round slightly too late and gasped in pain when the bat heading for his head missed smacking into his shoulder causing a flash of pain to shoot down his arm nearly causing him to drop his Bo in pain. It was only instinct which kept him holding onto his weapon.

"Look at this guys" the purple dragon who has attacked Donatello called out, a gleeful tone to his voice which didn't bode well for him. Donatello came to his feet and glanced around him, a feeling of dread coming to his stomach, the original 6 purple dragons he saw had somehow swelled to about 20 of them including the man coming towards him with a sadistic grin on his face.

Donatello gritted his teeth and situated his Bo in a position for attack, there was no point in defending, and if he was going to get out of this situation alive then he was going to have to fight his way through them.

With a cry he leapt forward smacking the man who had hit on the shoulder hard round the head dropping him like a ton of bricks. He turned and swung his Bo in a wide arch before he began fighting. He wasn't sure what was happening but somehow the more the scum he took down the more there seemed to be until he was completely surrounding. He gave a gasp as his feet were taking out from beneath him and he felt the air driven from his lung as his front connected with the cold concrete and several pairs of boots kicked him at once making his vision blur with the pain.

He heard a familiar cry and then the sound of pain and fear around him then a long silence. He glanced up coming to his feet with a shocked expression on his face, around him were the Purple Dragons all of them unconscious littering the ground. He glanced around him in astonishment then called out as he felt a familiar presence watching him from the surrounding shadows.

"Raphie I know you're there, you need to come home with me, there's nothing that's happened that we can't fix. You're not a monster, how could you ever have thought that, please come home" silence met him, an oppressive silence that made him shiver then the familiar presence was gone as if it had never existed and he was alone.

"Raph" he whispered before getting to his feet and hurrying in the opposite direction to the way he felt his brother go. He didn't want to but he had to tell the others about the Purple Dragons since there was clearly something else going on. Donatello shook his head, brushing his eyes as he ran. Could this day get any worse?

**Author Note – **_Yay another chapter done, I hope you enjoyed it! I'll try and get the next chapter written as soon as I can. Thanks for reading, please review but no flames please. Thanks_


	4. Leonardo

Anything

By

Hannio

Chapter 3

Leonardo

**Disclaimer**_ – None of the characters mentioned in the below work of fiction belong to me in any shape or form. I'm merely borrowing._

**Author Note - **_Here's chapter 3 (technically 4 but one's a prologue and doesn't count) so I'm officially half way through this story! Yay! Anyway this one isn't as long as the other chapters but it doesn't need to be! Please enjoy_

He wanted to punch something, he wasn't greatly bothered about what he would hit, anything would do if it meant getting rid of the feeling of helplessness which had been plaguing him, eating away at his stomach until he felt sick from it all.

He was so angry at Raphael, he wanted to shake him and yell at him, let him know exactly how selfish he was for putting them through all this pain and worry, he wanted Raphael to feel that same feeling as him. The only problem with that was his younger brother wasn't there to yell at or to touch. What made it worse was knowing that Raphael clearly had no intention of returning.

Every passing minute that passed without Raphael was like a nail in the coffin of his family. Every second that Leonardo didn't see him was another chip breaking off his heart. Their family wouldn't work without them all there. If you took even one of the away then the rest would fall and crumble, becoming disjointed and separate. Leonardo didn't want that. He wanted his family full and whole. He wanted his baby brother back.

He stopped in the dark tunnel and looked around him with sharp staring eyes. His body was as still as if it had been made of stone as he strained to hear anything that would indicate he wasn't alone. A slight movement, the sound of a rock being disturbed, the sound of breathing. Anything would have done but he heard nothing.

He stood for a moment before suddenly swinging round, his blue bandana tails whipping through the air as his fist connected with the stone wall behind him, dislodging loose rock which fell into the stream behind him with a plopping sound.

It was as stupid thing to do, he knew that already and if it had been one of his brothers to do it then he would have delivered them a long lecture on it but at that moment he didn't care. The sharp pain shooting up his arm and wrist distracted him from the thoughts and images whirling constantly around his head.

He blamed himself for the whole situation. He was the eldest, Master Splinter had named him leader of the brothers and yet he hadn't seen this coming. He had ignored the signs that Raphael had desperately and silently been sending him, instead choosing to put it down to his brother being in a mood. Now Raphael was gone and their family was suffering all because Leonardo had decided that it was too much effort to deal with another one of his little brother's mood swings.

He sighed out loud as he leaned his head against the cool, slimy wall, waiting as the sharp pain subsided into a dull, manageable ache. He didn't want to go back home without Raphael but he clearly wasn't going to find him where he was. If Raphael didn't want to be found then the chances of them actually finding him were slim to none.

Out of the 4 of them it had been Raphael who had been the natural hunter; he had the ability to track anyone, anywhere. It had been one of his greatest skills other then his strength and stamina. Leonardo had lost track of the number of times when they were younger when one of them got lost in the maze of tunnels surrounding their home and Raphael would find them and bring them home safely. Always with the same cocky grin that was so comforting to see.

The sound of his shell cell ringing snapped him out of his dark mood bringing him back sharply to the present. He reached down and grabbed it out of the pouch on his belt where he kept it. He flipped it open and answered it, an eager tone to his voice that he couldn't hide.

"Donnie, have you found Raph? Is he with you?" he demanded, a frown coming to his face as he heard how out of breath Donatello sounded. It sounded as though his brother was sprinting.

"Sort of Leo" came the reply "Meet me back at the lair. There's something going on that I've got to tell you both about."

"The lair?" Leonardo repeated "Why…" Donatello cut him off mid sentence sounding annoyed.

"Jus do what I say Leo, we'll talk at the lair" There was a click and then the phone went dead in his hand. Leonardo pulled it away from his ear and stared at it blankly for a second before his brain kicked into gear. He swung round, pushing his phone back into the pouch as he began sprinting back the way he had come. Donatello had said sort of which must have meant that he had seen him.

It didn't take him long to reach the entrance to the lair and after a quick glance round to make sure he was alone he reached up and pulled the lead pipe situated just above his head. The wall in front of him slid back revealing the door to their home. He opened it and stepped through, his eyes immediately falling on Donatello who was pacing the floor to the living room in an agitated manner. Michelangelo had beaten him back as well and was watching Donatello with an eager look on his face. The first sign of emotion he had shown since he had left Raphael's room.

"What happened? Did you find Raph? Is he ok?" Leonardo demanded, crossing the room with a few stride before coming to a stop In front of Donatello, who had stopped pacing the minute he had heard Leonardo's voice.

"I didn't se him" he answered quickly, Leonardo took a step back, his gaze falling to the side of him as he felt disappointment and hopelessness wash through him. "But he was there, I felt him" Leonardo looked back at him with a frown meeting Donatello's eager eyes straight on.

"You felt him with you? If you thought you found him then why didn't you call us then and there? We could have come to you and searched the area." Leonardo knew he sounded angry but for once he didn't care. Donatello spoke calmly.

"It wasn't an area I could stay in" he said holding up his hand and forestalling Leonardo's demand for an explanation. "It's complicated. I was attacked by the Purple Dragons while I was searching for Raph, they were in the sewers Leo." Leonardo's head snapped up as his disappointment and guilt was replaced with hot rage. The purple Dragons were in the sewers close to his family. they were in the sewers where one of his brothers was out there alone going through some emotional breakdown without the support of his family, possibly unaware that they were there. If they found him and harmed him. Leonardo gritted his teeth together trying to resist the urge to run out of the lair and to where the purple dragons were so he could destroy them before they could find Raphael.

"Purple Dragons" Both Leonardo and Donatello turned in surprise as Michelangelo spoke. He had come to his feet from where he had been sitting with a glint in his eyes that Leonardo was more used to seeing in Amber coloured eyes. "Here in the sewers, when Raph is out there?" Donatello nodded his head slowly.

"Yep, it looked like they were waiting for something or someone, I couldn't really tell what. I could only see 6 of them originally." He went quiet for a moment lost in thought.

"What happened then?" Leonardo asked.

"Well one of them found me" Donatello said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Then somehow the 6 became 20, literally every time I took one of them down it was like they were replaced with about 20 more. Then they knocked me down and…" he stopped again, making Leonardo breath out noisily in annoyance.

"And?" he prompted trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice; Donatello looked up and met his eyes steadily.

"And then it went quiet bar the sound of grunts and when I looked up they were all unconscious on the floor. It felt like Raph was there with me, I could feel him watching me." Leonardo ran a hand over his head as he thought.

"What are the purple Dragons doing in the sewers?" He muttered to himself before looking up and addressing his brothers. "Look nothing is more important then finding Raph and finding him quickly. If the Purple Dragons are up to something then you can guarantee that the foot and Karai will be involved and if they are…"

"Then we need Raph because there is bound to be a fight." Donatello finished with a sigh. "Why does everything have to happen at once?" he asked. Leonardo ignored the question.

"What we need to do is to go back to where you were attacked Donnie and see what we can find there. If I know Raph and he was there with you then he'll be tracking the Purple Dragons right now finding out exactly what they are up to perhaps if we find them…"

"Then we find Raph" Michelangelo said. "Let's go" Leonardo watched as Michelangelo walked out of the door without another word to them.

"Donnie" Leonardo said, holding his hand out to stop Donatello from following their youngest brother.

"I know what you're going to ask me Leo, it was Raph don't ask me how I know I just know, Raph was in the tunnel and Raph saved me the same way he always saves me."

"Did you see him at all? Even a glimpse? Did you talk to him?" Leonardo asked. Donatello looked away as he shook his head.

"I called out to him but he didn't answer me Leo. He doesn't want to be found" Leonardo shrugged his shoulder swallowing hard before he spoke, a hard note coming to his voice.

"He doesn't have a choice in this, we best follow Mike before he does something stupid like try and take on the whole Purple Dragon gang himself. I wouldn't put it past him in his current mood." Donatello nodded his head and as one they both turned and hurried out of the room without another word.

**Author Note – **_Another chapter finished! I hope you enjoyed it! Please review but no flames, the next part will be up soon I hope._


	5. Interlude

Anything

By

Hannio

Interval

Raphael

**Disclaimer – **_None of the characters mentioned in the below piece of fiction belong to me in any shape or form. I'm merely borrowing them for this story._

**Author Note – **_Very short interlude! Please enjoy_

He followed them, staying close to the shadows. His eyes watching his brothers, taking in every aspect of their faces so he could memorise them into his brain for the future. He had watched them separate and had decided to follow Donatello, his feet moving silently, his body blending into the wall as if he was part of it. He just wanted to follow him and make sure he was ok.

Michelangelo and Leonardo were strong fighters with the ability to be vicious and violent if the need arose but Donatello lacked that needed skill though he was a competent fighter, that was why Raphael protected him in battle so he would never have to develop that edge that the rest of them had been forced to learn. It had broken his heart the day that Michelangelo had shown it, he wouldn't allow the same to happen to Donatello.

He had never planned on getting involved in Donatello's fight but they had soon swarmed him and he couldn't have lived with himself if he had sat back and allowed his brother to be hurt when he was around to stop it from happening.

So he had followed his heart and his emotions the same way he always did and attacked. They were no match for him. He had the element of surprise on his side and the sheer rage to add extra power to his moves. He had hidden back in the shadows, climbing until he was back in the broken upper tunnel he knew of, it was large enough for him to fit in and in an awkward position, making it hard to see from the ground. He knew that Donatello would never see him, probably would never consider the upper areas of the tunnel to be worthy of searching. None of them knew the sewers like him.

He had began wriggling back through the broken shaft but had stopped as he heard Donatello call out to him, speaking to him, pleading with him in a way that made his heart clench painfully. He wanted to go to him but he couldn't move. He had to be strong; it was the only way he could save them from him. They would understand one day why he did what he did and they would hopefully not hate him too much. That was all he could hope for.

He had shut out the voice with difficulty and continued crawling, coming to a stop and flipping down, legs bent to absorb the impact; he remained bent down for a few minutes. His sais out as he stayed as still as a statue, eyes scanning the tunnel waiting to see if anything or anyone would emerge from the shadows but he remained alone, the only sound in the tunnel being his own breathing.

He picked up his rucksack and placed it over his shoulder before silently making his way down the tunnel. He would cut down the next right access point. The one which would lead to the tunnel he was just in. Donatello would already be gone, running back to the others to tell them what he had discovered, and why he did that Raphael would follow the Purple Dragons and find out exactly what was going on, and once he did he would destroy the threat to his family the same as he always did.

He knew his place, protector in the shadows, forever watching but never really included. He closed his eyes for a moment before he reopened them a steely determined expression in them as his hands tightened on his Sais. He knew what he had to do.

**Author Note – **_Please Review but now flames, I'll try and update soon though I still need to write the chapter! 4 more chapters to go and this is finished yay!_


	6. Michelangelo's Mission

Anything

By

Hannio

Chapter 6

Michelangelo

**Disclaimer – **_None of the characters mentioned in the below piece of fiction belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment._

**Author Note – **_Firstly a massive apology for the delay with this chapter. I know it's been nearly a month since I last updated this story. The simple reason for the delay is that I was struck by horrific writers block when it came to this story. I had plenty of ideas about my other stories but Mikey did not want to speak to me about this one and since it was his chapter that left me in a small bit of a bind._

_ Anyway I have produced a chapter. Different from what I originally had planned but I'm just going to roll with it and see where it leads me which means that this story may turn out slightly longer then I originally thought it would be._

_ Anyway I hope you enjoy it!_

He still couldn't understand how this had happened to them without any of them picking up on the signs and warnings that he was sure Raphael must have been sending out to them for weeks. Surely he was still in bed, under the duvet fast asleep having a nightmare and when he eventually awoke Raphael would be in the room next to him just like normal and everything would be normal like it was meant to be.

He didn't understand it. He didn't get how Raphael could just up and leave them in the middle of the night with only a note telling them that he was gone. A short, impersonal note at that. Could he not have left them each an individual note, something to indicate that leaving them hadn't been as easy for him to do as it appeared to be? All it would have taken was a note addressed to him. A letter that could have helped banish all this fear and doubt that seemed to have settled in the bottom of Michelangelo's stomach, churning, making him feel nauseous every time he allowed his thoughts to the stray toward Raphael and the thought of him being gone for good.

He didn't understand how Donatello could have been so close to Raphael, close enough that he could sense him and yet not try to follow him or find him, instead choosing to turn back to inform them about the Purple Dragons being in the sewers. As far as Michelangelo was concerned the Purple Dragons were incredibly unimportant in the scale of things and Donatello's duty had been to Raphael, he should have gone after him, he should never have turned back. If he hadn't there would be a chance that Raphael would already be back with them. The thought made him angry when he allowed himself to think of it.

If he had been the one to find Raphael then he would never have dreamed of turning back. He would have tracked him down, just like when the pair of them had been children and had constantly snuck away from Leonardo and Donatello, to hide in the sewers taking it in turns to track the other turtle down as they hid. A game they still played now occasionally, though the area they played in had expanded to the surface and all the Sewers, both of them living for the challenge the game represented. Both of them vying with each other to be the best tracker.

Michelangelo knew that out of the pair of them it was Raphael who was the better tracker; he had known that for years, though he had never admitted that fact to his brother. Raphael had never lost in their game but then again Michelangelo had never failed to find his brother either. It may have taken him longer but he always found his prey. If he had been the one allocated the West portion of the sewers then he would have had Raphael in his sight line by now and he would have brought him home to where he belonged.

He didn't understand how Leonardo could even allow his thoughts to focus on anything other then finding Raphael. He had looked him directly in the eyes and had said that nothing was more important then finding their missing brother but Michelangelo had seen the look in Leonardo's eyes when Donatello mentioned the Purple Dragons. He had seen the exact moment that Leonardo became conflicted, torn between being a big brother and a leader.

Michelangelo's mind was clear and focused. He would find Raphael and he would bring him home. If he had to take out some Purple Dragon scum to do it then so be it. He was prepared to take any action to achieve his goal. Nothing else mattered to him at that point in time. As far as he was concerned this would just be like another game between him and Raphael and it was one that Michelangelo would not lose. Not when the stakes were so high.

He continued to sprint down the Sewer tunnels, his feet pounding through the puddles, his breathing ragged in his own ears, his arms pumping in an attempt to quicken his pace. He knew that he had already left his other two brothers behind him but he didn't slow his pace down. If anything he quickened it ignoring the burning pain in his legs and side caused by his own punishing pace.

He estimated that Raphael had a forty minute head start on him which didn't bode well for him being able to pick up his trail. He was positive that Raphael would remember the game they played as well as he did and would be extra careful about leaving a trail. This game was different though, this time Raphael didn't want to be found.

Michelangelo came to a sudden stop, leaning against the wall and allowing himself a few minutes rest so he could catch his breath. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, leaning down and resting his hands against his thighs. He straightened after a moment. His eyes opening as he glanced around him with a watchful expression making sure he was alone before he looked around the corner. A frown came to his face as his eyes flickered around the area, taking in all the details like he had been taught. Anything no matter how small may be the key to finding your prey.

He turned back sharply, his body tensing as he looked down the tunnel he had just come from, a feeling growing in the pit of his stomach that he wasn't alone. He took out his nunchucks, releasing them, twirling them in a flawless motion, ready to unleash the first move on whoever was coming. His eyes narrowed with intent as he came to the balls of his feet ready to move quickly out of the way, using his speed as an advantage to put his opponent off.

He let out another deep breath, the tension easing out of his body swiftly causing him to slouch down for a moment, as he recognised Leonardo coming towards him, his movement swift and silent. He came to a halt by Michelangelo, a fierce glare on his face as he spoke.

"What are you thinking?" he demanded in a hushed undertone. He shook his head interrupting Michelangelo before he had a chance to answer him. "Forget it" he stated, the anger still evident in his voice and eyes "I'll deal with this later. Do not run off again Mikey. We need to stay together especially when we know that there is a group of Purple Dragons somewhere in the sewers, possibly looking for us and who would not hesitate to attack us if they see us. Understand?"

Michelangelo met his gaze, his own steady but was saved from having to answer as Donatello appeared from behind Leonardo.

"The perimeter is secured Leo" he stated, his eyes meeting Michelangelo's with a look of relief "I didn't see any Purple Dragons, it would appear that they have already moved on from here." Leonardo nodded his head.

"I thought that might be the case" he replied. "Are you positive that this was the place where they attacked you Donnie?" he asked. Donatello shot him a quick annoyed look before he answered.

"This is definitely the place Leo" he confirmed with a quick glance around him. Michelangelo spoke for the first time since his brothers had joined him. There was a serious note to his voice that was often missing.

"This is the place" he agreed with a quick glance at Donatello before turning his eyes back to Leonardo. "They were situated around the corner. You can see clear signs of recent activity but whatever they were waiting for they clearly now have and they have gone somewhere with it." Leonardo and Donatello looked at him, Leonardo's face expressionless though Donatello looked surprised. Michelangelo met their gazes calmly, an almost impassive look on his face.

He watched them exchange a quick worried glance with each other but ignored it. He could understand their concern. This was a side to himself that they weren't used to experiencing. They were used to seeing the mask that he wore on a daily basis of a carefree, happy person with little thought in his head for anything but the here and now. But today with everything that had happened he had found it too much of a struggle to keep it up. Once Raphael was back then he would revert back to the Michelangelo they knew. Until then he needed all his attention focused on the task of finding his brother, and not on trying to keep up a happy charade to make his two remaining brothers feel better.

"We should check it out closer and see what we can find out." he now commented, as the silence continued. He indicated the area with a thumb over his shoulder. Leonardo searched his eyes for a moment before he nodded his agreement, a focused, determined expression coming over his face as he slipped back into his leader persona. Michelangelo stood to the side allowing him to move past him before he turned and began following him.

"I didn't know you could run so fast" Donatello commented as he came to his side, a half surprised, half impressed look on his face. Michelangelo nodded and spared him a quick smile but remained silent as he stepped around the corner for the first time.

He glanced around him once before his gaze focused on Leonardo, a frown coming to his face, as his hand curled into a fist at his side. Clearly Leonardo was more intent on finding out why the Purple Dragons were down in the sewers in the first place and what they had been transporting, He turned watching as Donatello walked passed him, making his way over to Leonardo's side and crouching down, listening as the eldest began talking to him.

Michelangelo shook his head and began slowly walking around the outer area, his eyes searching the ground intently, searching for any trace that Raphael might have unknowingly left him. He was struck by a strong sense that Raphael had been there and that he was still somewhere close by.

He came to a suddenly stop and lifted his eyes towards the ceiling, his gaze focusing on an upper tunnel within climbing distance of where he stood on the ground. It was small and partly caved in but there was still just about enough space for Raphael to have snuck back in it after he had saved Donatello from a severe beating, A blaze of excitement shot through him reflecting in his eyes as he took a step forward. He finally had a trail.

He turned and glanced over his shoulder towards his brothers. Both had their back towards him and they spoke indicating something on the ground to each other. He pushed down his feeling of guilt justifying to himself that he has never actually promised Leonardo that he would stay with them, and anyway Leonardo himself had said there was nothing more important then finding Raphael. He grasped the broken wall and silently climbed up, his gaze on his brothers who didn't notice.

He knew Leonardo wanted them all to stick together but as he pulled himself through the small area towards the light he could just about see on the other side he came to one single conclusion.

He had Raphael's trail and was now on the hunt and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would soon have the older turtle in his sight line and that Raphael was coming home with him one way or another.

**Author Note – **_Yay! Another chapter done and dusted. It's different to what I imagined but I quite like the thought of Mikey being intent on finding Raphael and allowing nothing to faze him. If one of my brothers went missing I would be the same. Anyway hopefully Donnie will be much more talkative then Mikey was to me (A month Mike!) and I can get the next chapter of this up hopefully within 2-3 weeks at the latest *Hannio crosses her fingers*_

_ Anyway please review but no flames! Thank you for reading!_


	7. Donatello's Plan

Anything

By

Hannio

Chapter Seven

Donatello's Plan

**Disclaimer – **_None of the characters mentioned in the below piece of fiction belong to me in any shape or form. I'm merely using them for my own entertainment _

**Author Note – **_Here is the next chapter. Luckily Donnie has actually spoken to me without making me wait a month for it, though I wasn't greatly pleased with what he wanted me to write. This story seems to be taking on a mind of its own. Whoever says the author is in charge has clearly never tried to bend 4 teenage turtles to do her will! It just doesn't work!_

_ Anyway please enjoy the chapter._

"I'm not sure what this is Leo" Donatello said with a sigh reaching into his bag and taking out a small test tube. "It certainly doesn't belong here, it may have something to do with whatever it is the Purple Dragons were collecting" he opened the test tube and scooped some of the pinky-red dust on the slimy stone floor. "I can analysis it back at my lab after we've found Raph, it might be able to point us in the right direction and figure out exactly what they are planning" Leonardo nodded as Donatello placed the test tube lid on and secured it before slipping it back into his bag.

"Raph is more important but if this helps then that's a good thing" Leonardo commented. Donatello sighed as he pushed himself to his feet and turned to face the surrounding area with watchful eyes that widened almost instantly as they searched the room.

"Where's Mikey?" He demanded, his gaze going to Leonardo who swung round his eyes also searching the room.

"Shit" he cursed causing Donatello to look at him in surprise. He was used to hearing both Raphael and Michelangelo curse on a regular basis but to hear Leonardo curse was a different thing. The leader rarely allowed him self to lose control and saw swearing as a symptom of that. "Where has he gone?" Leonardo demanded, his gaze coming to Donatello.

"He must have gone looking for Raph" Donatello said, worry in his voice as his eyes continued to scan around as though he expected Michelangelo to be hiding in a corner somewhere ready to jump out at them.

"I'm going to give him such a lecture when I find him." Leonardo growled "He's so stupid sometimes, does he not think that not only do we have to find Raph now but we also have to find Mikey on top of that."

"Perhaps he found something" Donatello suggested. "When we were looking at that" he pointed at the remaining dust on the floor. "He was looking round and we both know that he's good at tracking when he wants to be."

"If he found something then he should have told us instead of hurrying off by himself. Him and Raph are the same, they never think before they act." He snapped angrily. Donatello shrugged but chose to remain silent. It was never good arguing with Leonardo once he was worried over something because he simply seemed to lose his ability to keep a clear head though he would always deny that fact if any of them pointed it out to him..

To Donatello's logical mind if Michelangelo had found something then he should go after it in the hope that whatever he found was still fresh enough to trace. Waiting around for them to finish what they were doing wouldn't have been logical. He watched as Leonardo began walking around the room, his eyes scanning everything clearly trying to find out what Michelangelo had found which sent him running but from the set of his brother's shoulders it was pretty clear to him that he wasn't finding anything.

Donatello hunched down slightly, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to ignore the churning feeling in his stomach. Perhaps he should have gone after Raphael when he had him near instead of turning and running back home, he could have easily have rang the other two on his cell. It wouldn't have taken them long to reach him especially with how fast Michelangelo could run when he felt the need for it. If he had then they might nearly have had Raphael in their sightlines or he might have been back with them. He would have probably been angry and hurt that they wouldn't let him leave but none of them would have care, Raphael would have to put up with their angry words and desperate hugs whether he desired them or not.

Raphael had been gone not even twenty four hours and yet it already seemed like a life time to Donatello. He would do anything for one glimpse of his brother. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell, flipping it open, his fingers writing a quick text which he didn't expect an answer to from either of the brother's he sent it to but he could still hope.

_Really worried, just let me know you're ok_

He sighed as he closed his phone and slipped it back into his bag, bringing his gaze to Leonardo as he turned with a sound of frustration which reflected the expression on his normally calm face.

"Found nothing?" Donatello asked taking a step forward, his own eyes scanning the wall, his stomach sinking further as Leonardo shook his head. "Leo there's no point in staying here" he commented slowly, each word forcing itself out of his throat against his will "Perhaps we should trust that Mikey will find Raph and bring him back to us and that we…" his voice failed him for a moment before he spoke again, his voice barely audible even in the silent tunnel. "We should try and figure out what is happening with the purple dragons."

There was a long silence between them that was broken by Leonardo.

"You want to stop looking for Raph?" he said quietly, an undertone of anger to his voice that Donatello reacted to with his own anger.

"Of course I don't" he snapped. His grip tightening on the strap of his bag until his knuckles was pale green. "All I want to do is find him and have him back with us so I can beat him before shaking him and then hugging him. However we've got to look at this logically Leo and not allow emotions to cloud our judgement. We've lost Mikey; we don't have a trail so we have nothing Leo. If I know Raph then he would have followed the Purple Dragons when they attacked me and he saved me. Maybe if we find out where they have gone and what they are doing we can find them and find Raph and Mikey. I don't see any other way." Leonardo's eyes searched his before dropping.

"We should…" he began before his stopped himself. Donatello remained silent allowing Leonardo to come to his own decision. He glanced down as he felt his phone vibrate in his bag and quickly pulled it out and opened it. He saw a text from Michelangelo and read it, the feeling in his stomach easing slightly.

_Fine, on his trail_

"Mikey's on his trail" Donatello commented quietly, holding his phone out so Leonardo could read the message. The eldest read the message twice before he nodded.

"Ok" he said, his voice just as quiet as Donatello's had been. "We'll head back to the lair so you can analyse the dust thing which will hopefully give us the answers. We'll have to trust Mikey to find Raph." Donatello nodded.

"If anyone can then it will be Mikey." Donatello said with more confidence then he felt. He hesitated before placing his hand on Leonardo's shoulders. "I don't like my plan either" he confessed. "But I really don't know what else we can do." Leonardo nodded, placing his hand over Donatello's and patting it before he lowered his hand and moved away from Donatello.

"Come on" he said heading back the way they came. "The sooner we get back the sooner we can start looking again this time with some sort of direction." Donatello nodded and began following him, only hesitating once to look over his shoulder at the abandoned tunnel. He just hoped that his plan was the right plan and they weren't making a massive mistake. If anything happened to either Raphael or Michelangelo then it would be his fault and he didn't know if he could live with that.

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**Author Note – **_There we go another chapter done __ Chapter Eight should hopefully be up within the next two weeks once I've updated my other chapter story and got the two one shot ideas out of my head. The good news is though that I actually know what I want to happen in chapter Nine so yay!_

_ Please review but no flames. Thank you for reading _


	8. Surprise

Anything

By

Hannio

Chapter Eight

Surprise

**Disclaimer – **_None of the_ _characters mentioned in the below story belong to me in any fashion, I'm merely using them for my own entertainment._

**Author note – **_Firstly I'm really sorry about the delay in all my stories recently. I've had a few problems recently and I ended up confused and unsure about a lot of things but I'm back now. I haven't abandoned my stories but I do need to ask that you are patient with me. I've just been promoted at work so I'll have even less time now to update though I'll try to do better._

_ Anyway please enjoy this chapter which is radically different from what I first planned to do._

Michelangelo glanced round the corner, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the empty tunnel in front of him. He was definitely getting closer, he could feel it, Raphael was somewhere in the adjacent tunnels and he was going to find him one way or another.

He wasn't greatly sure what he was going to do when he did find the other turtle though he could hazard a guess. He would either smack the other turtle as hard as he could while berating him in a fashion that he was sure would make Leonardo proud or he would grab him, hugging him tightly and refusing to let go until he had the other turtle back in the lair where he would probably proceed to hit him.

Either way Raphael was heading for a beating and probably not just from him; from the looks he could see in both Leonardo and Donatello's eyes they would be having some strong words with the missing turtle as well.

He pushed the thoughts from him mind. Now was not the time for him to start day dreaming, he had a job to do and that was all he needed to focus on.

His head spun round and he stared down the tunnel he had just come from, crouching down and merging into the shadows as his breathing became silent. He had heard something, the sound of a shoe scuffing against the stone flooring beneath them. The sound had been slight, far away but it was close enough to place Michelangelo on guard.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed crouched in the darkness but it was long enough that the back of his legs began to twinge in a way that made it clear to him that unless he moved soon he was going to end up with a bad cramp. Something he had no desire to experience. The tunnel lay empty though and whoever it was who had made the noise was clearly long gone.

Shaking his head Michelangelo glanced back around the corner and slipped quietly into that tunnel ignoring the way his muscles protested at the movement. He would have to make sure he remained quiet about that or Leonardo would have him in extra training before he could blink.

He kept his eyes on the ground trying to see in the dim light whether the slime on the floor had been disturbed in any fashion. So far it was looking as though it was hopeless. When he had come through the upper tunnel he had picked up on Raphael's trail instantly, the older turtle had clearly not expected him to pick on his movements so quickly. It didn't last long though, somehow Raphael had realised that Michelangelo was following him and began to cover his tracks.

How he knew was beyond Michelangelo, he could only assume that somehow Raphael had caught his scent or he had made a noise which had echoed down the tunnel to wherever Raphael had been at that time.

He stopped as another thought came to his head.

Perhaps Raphael wasn't hiding his tracks from Michelangelo at all; perhaps he was actually hiding his tracks from the purple dragons. Michelangelo frowned as he realised that, that explanation actually made sense. Donatello had told them that when he had been jumped by the gang he had been completely surrounding and that Raphael had come to his rescue. That in itself wasn't unusual; Raphael often came to their rescue when they were in need. He even came to Leonardo's aid on occasions.

If Raphael had come to Donatello's rescues then he wouldn't stop until the whole threat had been eliminated. If some purple dragons escaped then Raphael would be on their tail which meant that Michelangelo himself would be on their tail as well.

He let out a silent breath, he was going to have to be careful, the last thing he wanted was to fall into the enemies hand, there would be no way he would be helpful to anyone if that happened.

A frown came to his face as he stopped again as he heard the scuffing sound again, he felt his skin crawl as he quickly squeezed into a nearby crevice in the wall and waited, he could hear the sound of low talking coming near him, clearly he was right smack bang in the Purple Dragon operation.

He silently cursed as he slipped his mobile out of his belt pouch and flipped it open. A Slight glance down revealed that it was fully charged. He pressed the button to the side remembering the lecture Donatello had given him about the phone when he gave it to him.

The button would kick start his phone's GPS system meaning that wherever he went Leonardo and Donatello would be able to trace him, even more importantly though Raphael would be able to trace him. If his memory was correct then when one of them was activated it would transmit a signal to his brother's mobiles making a small orange light flash on the screen indicating it was his phone which was active. He wished for a moment that he had paid more attention when Donatello had ran through the situation with him, instead he was going to have to make the most of the small amount of knowledge that he had retained.

He peered out as two men passed him intent of their conversation with each other, he listened in carefully trying to take in as much information as he could so he could relay it to Leonardo when he eventually dragged Raphael home.

"The boss ain't gonna be pleased if we don't get it up and running"

"Yeah, yeah I know but if we don't have the part we don't have the part"

"He ain't gonna listen to that excuse"

"Better we say that it hasn't arrived then we placed it down, glanced away for a second and it was gone"

"Don't know where the hell it disappeared to"

"Don't know but we better try and find it or we are both dead meat"

The voices trailed away leaving a silence in its place that felt almost heavy and stifling. Michelangelo waited for a moment before hesitantly peering out of the crevice, the tunnel was empty again bar himself. He slipped out, resting one hand against the wall as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Clearly whatever the purple dragons were up to it, it had something to do with a part which probably meant it had something to do with a machine.

A machine that couldn't run without a certain part, a part which had magically disappeared.

A part he was willing to bet had magically disappeared into Raphael's possession.

A smile curved Michelangelo's face.

Things were finally going right, he would find Raphael and get him home and then they could give the part to Donatello who would be able to tell exactly what the part was for and then Leonardo would come up with a plan which would work and the problem would be solved. Raphael would be back and everything would be normal.

He hesitated for a moment wondering whether he should call one of his older brothers to fill them in on what had happened, he was sure they would want to know and it might make sense to tell them where he was.

He reached for his pocket but never reached it as he heard the sound of something swinging through the air before he felt a stunning pain and everything went black.

**Author Note – **_Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, I think I know what I want to write in it so fingers crossed. Once again I'm sorry about the delay with this and my other stories. Please review but no flames. Thanks_


	9. No Choice

Anything

By

Hannio

Chapter Nine

Raphael - No choice

Disclaimer – _None of the characters mentioned in the story below belong to me in any shape or form, I'm merely using them for my own entertainment purposes._

Author Note – _Here's the next chapter! I am trying to be good by updating at least one story per day, whether I manage it is another matter but I do have a rough version of chapter ten already written so hopefully it wont take as long as this one took to knock into shape._

_ Anyway I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Raphael sighed silently, his body hunched over as he ran his hand tiredly over his face, digging at his eyes with his fingers in an attempt to keep them open and focused on what was happening around him. He felt exhausted, his body drained of energy as though the decisions he had made the previous night had aged him until he felt as old and weary as Master Splinter.

He was beginning to doubt his own reasoning behind leaving his family behind him. It had seemed such a solid, foolproof plan in the black of night, a plan which had been surrounded by logic and sense but now in the light of day his carefully thought out reasoning behind his decision seemed flimsy at best.

The three of them needed him, needed him around to help protect them, it had been a path which he had decided to tread years ago in a bid to keep them safe from the harm Master Splinter had constantly warned them against. He had sworn a private oath to himself that he would guard them from any threat, a fact made harder by his self imposed exile. He only had to think back to Donatello being attacked to see what could happen if he wasn't there. The thought made his stomach roll. What if one of them was hurt because he wasn't there?

What if one of them was seriously injured or killed and he could have prevented it. He would never forgive himself if that happened.

He bit the inside of his mouth hard ignoring the taste of copper which coated his tongue. Perhaps it really was better if he was with them, even if he kept himself away from them in the lair, staying in his room except when they were at training. It would be hard to deal with but at least he would still be there, defending their backs, ready to jump into battle if the need arose which knowing his brothers it would.

Raphael bit back a groan with difficulty as his thoughts continued to zip around in in his head, confusing him further as another wave of tiredness hit him. He shook his head sharply, his eyes narrowing as he forced himself to push the thoughts out of his head. He could decide whether he should go back later, he had other more important things to think about at that moment in time, like what exactly he was meant to do with the object he had stolen from the machine the Purple Dragons had been in the middle of building.

He glanced back at it, raising an eyebrow as he tried to figure out what exactly it was. It looked pathetically small and harmless in his palm but it was clearly important to the Purple Dragons he had trailed to the area if their reactions were anything to go on. It didn't look like anything he had seen before making him wonder whether it was even human material. It could have been an Utrom contraption.

It had taken him exactly a minute of watching the gang beneath him to realise that whatever it was which they were building, was clearly bad news for him and for his brothers and so he had simply taken a part of it for himself, an action which had been surprisingly easy.

At first he had thought it was a trap, that stealing it had been way too easy even for someone with his skills but after watching them run around like a bunch of headless chickens when they had discovered it missing he had concluded that they really were that stupid and that even a bonehead like Casey would have been able to steal it without getting caught.

It was embarrassing really.

He turned back to watch the scene carefully. He had counted about thirty purple dragons in total, all of them answering to one man who had turned up after Raphael had stolen the object. Raphael didn't recognise from any of his previous encounters with the gang. Clearly this man actually knew what he was doing and was able to command his troops. If the scars on his face and arms were anything to go by then he clearly knew how to fight as well. Raphael wasn't sure what it was about him but something was certainly putting him on edge.

He had considered attacking them but had quickly dismissed the idea, even he wouldn't be so stupid as to start a fight when the odds were so stacked against him and he had no back up. Skilled as he was he could still easily be taken down if he was over swarmed.

In a normal situation he would have simply rang his brothers and demanded that they got off their asses and give him some much needed backup but this wasn't a normal situation for him to be in. He couldn't contact them, not yet so instead he would have to come up with another plan.

He glanced around his hiding place quickly. He would remain where he was hidden from view and scope out the scene in front of him before coming to a decision on what he should do. If the Purple Dragons split up into individual groups and headed out of the main area where they were currently gathered then he would follow them and take them out until then he would stay put.

A bitter smile came to his face. Leonardo would have been so proud of him if he could have seen him. His eldest brother seemed to work under the impression that Raphael acted first and thought later, a fact which was completely untrue. Raphael always thought before he leapt into battle, he had merely been gifted with a quick, agile mind that could take in a situation in a split second and react to it.

Raphael frowned as his mobile suddenly vibrated against the side of his shell, he glanced down in surprise and hesitantly pulled the phone from his belt, flipping it open and looking at it. The screen in front of him was blank causing him to blink in surprise. The phone had most definitely vibrated. Shaking his head he was about to close it when he noticed the diminutive flashing orange in the corner of the screen.

He hesitated for a split second before he pressed the two key simultaneously on the keypad bringing up a new screen which contained a small map, unlike Leonardo and Michelangelo Raphael had actually paid attention to Donatello when he had patiently explained to them the new modifications he made on their phones. Donatello's mind was one of the very few things which Raphael was in awe of and he often found himself fascinated by what his brother was capable of doing.

He watched with an increasing feeling of unease as the flashing orange spot came closer and closer to where he was situated, hidden above the Purple Dragons in one of the upper abandoned tunnels which he often favoured when he was scouting. If it had been either Leonardo or Donatello then Raphael wouldn't have worried but Michelangelo was different from the other two, Michelangelo actually understood the way Raphael's mind functioned. He would have known the sort of hiding places which Raphael felt safest in.

Michelangelo would have looked up in the other tunnel and he would look up now.

Raphael silently cursed himself for allowing Michelangelo to talk him into all those tracking games. Tracking games which had given his younger brother the key to how his mind worked. He could have remained hidden from the other two but he severely doubted he could remain hidden from Michelangelo for long.

His eyes widened as the dot came to a halt beneath his location. He swallowed hard as he slowly looked up, his attention caught by a smug voice which broke across the general noise the Purple Dragons had been making.

"Looky, looky at what we found hiding outside in the tunnel."

Raphael's breathe caught in his throat as he watched a giant of a man throw an unconscious Michelangelo roughly to the floor in the middle of the watchful group.

Raphael hissed through his teeth, his hands curling into fist as he physically fought the urge to launch himself out of his hiding place and attack the threat surrounding his brother. Now wasn't time for the hot headed action he was known for, he was more likely to get them both killed if he did that. If he was going to get Michelangelo then he had to think and he needed help, help from the very people he was running from.

Raphael took a deep breath, his fingers gliding over the keypad. He closed his eyes briefly before opening them, a steely look coming to them.

He had no choice.

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Author Note – _Chapter nine is finished! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review but no flames. Hopefully chapter ten will be up soon and then I can began to wind the story down._

Next Chapter – _Back to Leonardo and Donatello._


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